HHR giving code P0604 will not crank
03-26-2011, 04:05 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: 06-25-2009
Location: Chicago
Posts: 6
HHR giving code P0604 will not crank
Hey Guys,
My daughter left the key in the ignition last night and the battery drained down to zero. I jumped it from another car and when I turn the key nothing happens. The only indicator on the instrument panel while the key is in the crank position is the check engine light (little yellow engine). I put a code reader on it and received a P0604 code (Random Access Memory error). Will this keep the engine from starting? Does this mean the engine control module is toast? Right now I have the battery disconnected and I am letting it sit for a while to see if reseting it will help it recover. My daughter is going back to school tomorrow and she kind of needs the car, plus don't want to have to invest in a module right now. Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sparky
My daughter left the key in the ignition last night and the battery drained down to zero. I jumped it from another car and when I turn the key nothing happens. The only indicator on the instrument panel while the key is in the crank position is the check engine light (little yellow engine). I put a code reader on it and received a P0604 code (Random Access Memory error). Will this keep the engine from starting? Does this mean the engine control module is toast? Right now I have the battery disconnected and I am letting it sit for a while to see if reseting it will help it recover. My daughter is going back to school tomorrow and she kind of needs the car, plus don't want to have to invest in a module right now. Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sparky
03-26-2011, 05:41 PM
#2
Thread Starter
Join Date: 06-25-2009
Location: Chicago
Posts: 6
Hey Guys,
I have an update, I disconnected the battery and put it to charge because it was only reading 12.0 volts open circuit. I left it on charge disconnected from the car for 30 minutes and it was up to 12.5 volts open circuit. I reconnected the battery and it fired right up. I think the problem was that I was using a float charger to recharge it and it was only charging with 3 amps for about 5-6 hours. The slow discharge and recharge scrambled the engine controllers RAM, disconnecting it and fully charging the battery prior to reconnecting it did the trick. Oh, when I checked for codes there were none. Mischieve managed!
Thanks for reading my tail of misery.
Sparky
I have an update, I disconnected the battery and put it to charge because it was only reading 12.0 volts open circuit. I left it on charge disconnected from the car for 30 minutes and it was up to 12.5 volts open circuit. I reconnected the battery and it fired right up. I think the problem was that I was using a float charger to recharge it and it was only charging with 3 amps for about 5-6 hours. The slow discharge and recharge scrambled the engine controllers RAM, disconnecting it and fully charging the battery prior to reconnecting it did the trick. Oh, when I checked for codes there were none. Mischieve managed!
Thanks for reading my tail of misery.
Sparky
03-26-2011, 08:41 PM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: 06-25-2009
Location: Chicago
Posts: 6
Hey,
I found out that the battery was dead this morning so I put it on a cheap battery charger that only charges it at 3 amps, so it took it a good 5-6 hours to get up to 12 volts. When I removed the battery cable to reset the engine computer I hooked jumper wires to another car and let the battery charge off of the other alternator, at that point the battery was charging with about 13.7 volts for at least 25-30 minutes (@ unknown ?? amps) and that brought the open circuit voltage up to around 12.7 volts. I'm sure the engine controller didn't like the slow discharge and the slow recharge profile.
I'm an Electrical Engineer and we design body control modules for GM and there is a new test requirement that GM specified which decreases the battery voltage from 12.7 Volts to 0 Volts in 24 hours and then increases the battery voltage from 0 volts to 12.7 volts and the module has to pass a functionality test. If it doesn't operate the test is a failure and it has to be corrected.
At this point the jury is still out on whether the battery is trashed or not, it's at least 5 years old and maintenance free batteries really don't like to be deep cycled. I have had batteries that are 2-3 years old and 1 or 2 deep cycles have killed them. At this point I checked the battery and it only showed 12.1 Volts this evening.
Sparky
I found out that the battery was dead this morning so I put it on a cheap battery charger that only charges it at 3 amps, so it took it a good 5-6 hours to get up to 12 volts. When I removed the battery cable to reset the engine computer I hooked jumper wires to another car and let the battery charge off of the other alternator, at that point the battery was charging with about 13.7 volts for at least 25-30 minutes (@ unknown ?? amps) and that brought the open circuit voltage up to around 12.7 volts. I'm sure the engine controller didn't like the slow discharge and the slow recharge profile.
I'm an Electrical Engineer and we design body control modules for GM and there is a new test requirement that GM specified which decreases the battery voltage from 12.7 Volts to 0 Volts in 24 hours and then increases the battery voltage from 0 volts to 12.7 volts and the module has to pass a functionality test. If it doesn't operate the test is a failure and it has to be corrected.
At this point the jury is still out on whether the battery is trashed or not, it's at least 5 years old and maintenance free batteries really don't like to be deep cycled. I have had batteries that are 2-3 years old and 1 or 2 deep cycles have killed them. At this point I checked the battery and it only showed 12.1 Volts this evening.
Sparky
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